The New York Times features Mayor Woodfin’s + Kendra Morris’ story

On October 9, 2023, Mayor Randall Woodfin married Kendra Morris, and their love story caught the attention of national headlines. In a recent feature by the New York Times, writer Elaine Witt elaborately told their story.

“A Prophetic Dream Sparked a Real-Life Romance”

Mayor Woodfin’s small wedding atop Red Mountain was magical. (YNOT IMAGES)

Entitled A Prophetic Dream Sparked a Real-Life Romance, the feature grabs readers right from the start. Written for the “Vows” column of the New York Times, Witt’s retelling of the story is a charming, enthralling one.

And the headline isn’t just clickbait. After meeting for the first time at a golf tournament (which wasn’t especially memorable), Morris saw Woodfin once again. According to the article:

“When they saw each other a month later at a youth football clinic in Birmingham, where Ms. Morris’s two sons were enrolled, she approached him with a surprising confession.

‘I told him I’d dreamed that we were just riding around in a black truck downtown, listening to music, and it was raining,’ said Ms. Morris, who immediately felt embarrassed after blurting out her dream to a public figure she barely knew.”

Elaine Witt for the New York Times

From there, Witt recounted everything from their first impressions of each other to their first date at Paper Doll to Woodfin’s surprise proposal.

Of course, Witt highlighted their recent wedding ceremony, which was much more intimate than planned.

Concluding the article is a quote from Kendra, bringing the story back to the dream, which Witt dubbed “prophetic”:

“‘I didn’t know why I had a dream about him, and it was weird to me that I saw him right after that, but it ended up being a segue to a deeper conversation,’ Ms. Morris said. ‘Now I believe it was God, because we’ve actually had plenty of times like that, when we were driving around in a black truck, listening to music, in the rain.'”

Elaine Witt for the New York Times

More details on Mayor Woodfin’s wedding

Red Mountain was the perfect venue for this Birmingham couple. (YNOT IMAGES)

There’s even more to love about Mayor Woodfin’s wedding story, which Witt pointed out to Bham Now. Many of the vendors for the wedding were local to Birmingham, several being friends of the bride.

Another local element that Witt pointed out was the venue:

“Having the wedding set atop Red Mountain made for beautiful pictures to show off our city skyline to the readers of The New York Times, and I was thrilled with that.”

Elaine Witt, writer, The New York Times

Witt, a long-time Birmingham resident, was a writer for the Birmingham Post Herald for nearly 18 years, until the paper closed in 2005. When the New York Times needed someone to cover a wedding in Birmingham in 2021, they called on Witt.

This year, when Mayor Woodfin announced his engagement, Witt reached out to both the New York Times and the Mayor’s office. After getting the go-ahead, she got to show off this Birmingham love story to the whole nation.

Want updates like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter today.